New Plymouth triathlete Clark Ellice has overcome an altitude and mountain stream induced scare to be ready to race at this weekend’s Contact Tri Nationals in Wellington, an event that also carries with it ITU Oceania Championship status.

Along with the rest of the Tri NZ high performance squad, Ellice has been training at altitude at the Snow Farm high above Wanaka in preparation for a busy international season.

The first racing appointment however comes this Saturday with the standard distance National Championships and Oceania titles up for grabs at the latest round of the Contact Tri Series in Wellington.

Ellice says he has overcome a scare to be on the start line.

“The body had a pretty big set-back last weekend, after training quite excessively and admittedly out of frustration following the disappointment of Takapuna (Ellice finished 5th), I kind of put myself in the ‘box’ the first week of altitude training. I ran close to 130 kilometres in my first week at altitude and paid a price.

“I didn’t quite make it to Sunday after being forced down the mountain to the Wanaka motor camp for two forced rest days with a 48 hour stomach bug after drinking from a mountain stream on the Saturday long run.

“However by Wednesday I was recovered and spent the good part of last week training smart, listening to my coach and key advisor for 2010 Kris Gemmell and letting the ‘bounce back’ surface again.”

Ellice says he is now ready and confident of a good showing in Wellington where not only the national title is up for grabs, but an Oceania Championship and ITU ranking points.

“I once again have a lot of confidence after my last solid bike run session in scorching 30 degree heat. I’m still holding some great 20km/hr 600m run sessions and my heart rates are well and truly within the range to give me real confidence that a podium performance is realistic this weekend.

“My resting heart rate is back down to sub 40 in the morning and my race weight has well and truly been achieved. With the stomach bug now in the past I am keen as mustard to test the huge amount of base work I have put in over recent weeks with an average of 30 hours of training per week since mid January.”

Ellice will face stern opposition to gain that podium finish on Saturday with the field led by Takapuna winner Kris Gemmell and world number 6 Laurent Vidal. The Frenchman has been training with the Tri NZ squad at the altitude camp and will be a genuine threat this Saturday.

So too will a dozen Australians with James Seear leading the charge for the Oceania title, with New Zealanders Martin van Barneveld (Wellington), Tony Dodds (Wanaka) and Ryan Sissons (Auckland) adding real depth to an international standard field.

Racing throughout the morning is based at Waitangi Park and Oriental Parade and includes beginner (Contact 3:9:3) and age group racing over the standard distance course (1500m, 40km 10km) with qualifying spots for the Budapest World Championships on the line. The Under 23’s will line up alongside the elite competitors but race for their own titles and ITU ranking points.

Contact Tri Series, Wellington
National Standard Distance Championship and ITU Oceania Championship
Saturday 13th March 2010

Start Times:
Trophy Men 7:15am
Trophy Woman 7:20am
Trophy Teams 7:25am
3:9:3 Men 8:15am
3:9:3 Women 8:17am
3:9:3 Teams 8:20am
U19 Men 10:00am
U19 Women 10:05am
Elite/U23 Men 10:45am
Elite/U23 Women 10:50am

For course maps and further information, please visit www.triathlon.org.nz